I don’t think this will come off as funny as my attending tells it in person, but she once had a medical student who thought that the abbreviations “BID” and “TID” were just doctor speak for “I agree” or “Yes, that’s all.” (BID actually stands for “twice a day” and TID stands for “three times a day.” As in, take this pill, three times a day.)

My attending found this out the hard way; she’d always ask the medical student about a patient’s medication doses. The medical student would say “The patient is on Haldol 5mg.” And my attending would ask, “BID?” And immediately the student would nod back with a smile, “BID!”

Here’s the original derivation from MedlinePlus:
BID: (Latin) bis in die, twice a day
TID: (Latin) ter in die, three times a day

I wonder if someone was kidding around with the student and offhandedly offered the “alternative” definitions…

Felicity:

Why does it have “die” in it? I mean day, die plain enough to see, but that’s a bit ominous don’t you reckon?

Kelly Mazerolle:

Hello,
In my search of some dermatome images I came across this website and the image of “dermatome man.” Being a nerd and a huge halloween fan I found this to be the hottest thing EVER! I just figured I would drop you a line to let you know how awesome it is. I’m a massage therapy student in Nova Scotia, studying up on my dermatomes the night before a test and that really made my day. Did you cover your whole body or just the thorax and upper limbs? Also, what is this website?
Thanks a lot
I look forward to hearing from you
Kelly Maz

Lance:

Hey, this is a minor grievance but it seems like a lot of people in the medical profession don’t know that the proper SI usage requires a space between the number and the symbol (i.e. 5 mg). It seems like almost all sphygmomanometers are inaccurately labeled, too. They should be mm Hg, damn it! (That’s right! I used the proper medical term for a blood pressure meter!)

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This is a medical weblog--a collection of thoughts about medicine, medical training, and health policy--written by a fifth-year medical student.

I recently stopped blogging, as I graduated from medical school and I'm now a physician in my residency training in New York City. But feel free to read and enjoy!